Road Warrior: State routinely inspects gas pumps to prevent fraud

The in box: A message dropped into my email the other day raising an alarm about fraudulent readings on gasoline pumps.

It was a chain email allegedly originating from a Joel Van Woudenberg. I don’t know where Joel lives, but the email included anecdotes about overcharging at gas stations in Arizona, Georgia and California.

I never give the possibility of the pumps being set to calculate the total price fraudulently any thought, and asked our state’s Department of Agriculture how common such abuse is and how they check for it.

The out basket: Mike Louisell of the Washington State Department of Agriculture said: “In the 52 gas stations that we inspected in Kitsap County in 2017, we found 2.3 percent of the fuel meters we inspected were ‘rejected’ by our inspectors. That means the gas station management had to make repairs before those pumps could be put back into service. It does not mean that we shut down all the service at a particular station (an assertion made in the e-mail). The problem may have been relatively minor or more complex to fix.”

“Each fuel dispenser under our jurisdiction has a sticker showing the last inspection date and WSDA’s contact information. Look for the sticker showing the bust of George Washington.

“If WSDA inspectors find a problem, they issue a ‘stop-use order’ for that pump or ‘notice of correction’ to the gas station’s management. The station owner must use a company registered with WSDA to repair most problems before the pump can be used again by consumers. The repairs must be documented. We’ll be back to check the station again.

“Customers with issues should first approach an on-site station employee if they encounter problems. They can contact the WSDA in Olympia at (360) 902-1857 or email the agency at wtsmeasures@agr.wa.gov to tell us about their issues.

“Keep fuel receipts in your car. If there is a problem, you have proof of purchase and details that will help WSDA investigate.”

I asked for more details, and Mike referred me to Jerry Buendel, WSDA program manager for Weights and Measures.

Jerry says they “make an effort to get to every station not less than every three years.

“We have a sampling method to test the pumps. We do a visual inspection of all of the dispensers, however we test 15 percent of the meters. If there’s a failure, we’ll test more and if we have some failures there, we’ll test all of them. If it’s a new station, we’ll test 100 percent the first time we are in for an inspection.

“Pumping one gallon and comparing the price is a simple way to check out the advertised price and calculations the pump is doing. Our inspectors have five-gallon test measures to check the accuracy of the dispensers. The inspector will look at the quantity and price shown on the display when the display reads five gallons to see that the price calculations are correct and that the amount pumped into the test measure is within accuracy standards. The test measures are very precisely calibrated in a laboratory.

“The inspectors check the dispensers for a number of things other than accuracy. We’ll open the dispenser to check for leaks, to see that the meter adjustment mechanisms have tamper proof security seals and that there are no (debit card) skimmers or other hazards. We also check to see that the displays light up properly, that labels for octane and ethanol content are in place, and that the prices advertised on the street signs match up with the dispenser prices.

“Our inspectors also test for fuel quality. We’ll dip the underground storage tanks to check for water, we’ll do a visual inspection of the fuel to make sure it is free of debris and water and we screen for ethanol content. Sometimes we’ll take a sample to a laboratory to test for other qualities,” Jerry said.

Have a question for the Road Warrior? Call 360-792-9217 or email tvisb@wavecable.com.